After spending three seasons with the Panthers, safety hit the free-agent market and is set to sign with the Tennessee Titans, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The former Dallas, Minnesota, and Carolina safety will join the Titans on a two-year, $10 million contract. Last season, Woods played every defensive snap for the Panthers, maintaining his role as a key contributor.
The deal with Tennessee keeps Woods’ salary consistent with his previous three-year, $15 million contract with Carolina. However, given the NFL’s salary cap increase of over $70 million since his initial Panthers deal, this new agreement effectively represents a slight pay cut. Woods is now approaching his age-30 season, compared to being in his prime when he signed with Carolina.
Xavier Woods was a reliable presence in Ejiro Evero’s Panthers defense, continuing to play every down even after the new defensive coordinator took over. While Jeremy Chinn fell out of favor with Evero, Woods remained a consistent starter. He has played 100% of the defensive snaps twice in his career — once with the 2021 Vikings and again with the Panthers. In both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he was on the field for at least 91% of Carolina’s defensive snaps. A former sixth-round pick, Woods has started every game since his second NFL season.
Over the past two seasons, Woods recorded five interceptions and posted a career-high 119 tackles last year. The Titans, who previously brought in former Seahawks safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams but moved on from Adams quickly and did not sign Diggs to a long-term deal, are adding Woods as a cost-effective starter. Amani Hooker remains under contract, while Jevon Holland, whom the Titans were linked to, ended up signing with the Giants on a $15 million-per-year deal. With Hooker already on a $10 million AAV contract, Woods is expected to form a solid safety tandem at an affordable rate.